The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Best of Show, 1959 Maserati 3500 GT Bertone owned by Jim Utaski.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Daniel De Gallo
It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the Concorso Italiano is back and better than ever.
I attended the very first one, which I think was 40 years ago if that is possible, kind of a trial balloon, launched by Francis Mandarano at the Carmel Mission Inn, in a shopping center complex right next to Route One and just down the street from the Mission.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by and copyright of Daniel De Gallo
A while back, someone asked me if there were any events missing from Car Week. This seemed like a strange question at the time because there are at least thirty well publicized events all over Monterey Peninsula. And then last year Tanya Kosta started a new event, called The Paddock. I think Tanya hit her stride with this a few weeks ago, but here I want to give you some background that you will not likely have read elsewhere about why this works.
1963 Citroën Ami 6 ( won best in the W* class)
By Brandes Elitch and Daniel De Gallo
Photos by Daniel De Gallo
Recently, it seems like all sorts of new car events are springing up in the “Concours d’Elegance” category. For instance, we have the new Wilton House Concours (“Concours des Legendes”), the Heveningham Concours, the London City Concours, the Concours at Hampton Court, the Royal Bahrain Concours, the Fuori Concorso, Moda Miami, Tegernsee, and the Aurora Concours in Sweden. You can’t tell the players without a scorecard. I imagine that our sophisticated readers would find an explanation for how and why this is all happening now.
One of the Ardun heads on the test bed.
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
In mid-March our local Packard Club chapter hosted a tour of the Al Engel museum, just across the bay from San Francisco.
It was an extraordinary experience. I have been in many car museums in the US and Europe, but I have never seen anything like this. [Read more…] about Brandes Elitch at the Al Engel Museum
A Velocette MAC 350 cc similar to the one the author restored.
Story by Brandes Elitch
National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, West Midlands. To get right to the point, this museum is recognized as finest and largest motorcycle museum in the world. There are about 600 show-quality bikes on display in five exhibition halls. The bikes are from the early 1900s to the 1980s. It is overwhelming.
It is a tribute to the British motorcycle industry, which achieved world domination for sixty years. [Read more…] about National Motorcycle Museum and Ace Cafe
Fellow traveler Brandes Elitch next to a stationary Citroen prop food truck – Warwick Castle (they are all over the place: malls, public spaces).
Kenyon and Margaret Wills add some local color to their recent trip to the NEC Classic with the intrepid Brandes Elitch-Ed.
Story and photos by Kenyon and Margaret Wills
The annual early-November Classic Motor Show that we’re discussing is next to the Birmingham airport in the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), which is a modern convention center that is to UK conventions what Las Vegas or Orlando is to the USA.
The show is very centrally located and the entire country is essentially “next door” via a robust national rail network or the adjacent airport, making for a several-hour train ride or a cheap easyJet flight into Birmingham Airport. Hanging with Brandes Elitch, we also enjoyed the National Motorcycle Museum, just down the roundabout from the NEC. [Read more…] about A Short Trip to the UK
Need we say more?
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Brandes Elitch, Kenyon and Margaret Wills
Although I have attended Retromobile, Essen TechnoClassic, the Mille Miglia Historique, the Monaco Historics, and other shows for many years, until this year I had not visited the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre Classic Motor Show (November 7-9).
It is the largest motor show for historic vehicles in the world, spread out in 5 halls, in a large exhibition center, just a short monorail ride from the Birmingham airport.
Ed Godshalk in his Cisitalia D46 Monoposto “barn find” condition. Ex-factory team car, 5th place in 1946 Coppa Brezzi race, 1st place 1947 Mt. Ventoux Hill Climb, Ex-Harry Schell. Renowned Cisitalia restorer, Geert Kistermaker is at right.
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
Looking back, I have to say that some of the best memories are of the original Concours Italiano (later changed to Concorso Italiano).
At the time I was interviewing for a job with a bank in San Francisco, and my interviewers were my friend Joe and his associate, Willem Oosthoek, now perhaps the pre-eminent Maserati expert in the world.
Joe had just bought a very clean and original Maserati 3500 coupe (Willem has one too, of course) and wanted to get started on the restoration. At that time there was an organization called the Maserati Information Exchange (MIE) outside of Seattle, run by Francis Mandarano. Back then, forty years ago, (the event is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year) there were only two events, the races at Laguna Seca, and the Pebble Beach Concours. [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano and The Paddock 2025
1959 Cooper T51 F1. This car changed the layout of the racing car and set the template for the modern GP class.
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
Someone once asked Audrey Hepburn if they should go to Paris. Her response was “It is always a good idea.”
Like going to Paris, going to Laguna Seca racetrack for the Rolex Motorsports Reunion is always a good idea. If you are interested in historic racecars, it is mandatory. It is certainly one of most important tracks in the world, along with Monza, Monaco, Nurburgring, and Silverstone, and has been in operation for sixty years.
Tom Matano’s Miata Front Design sketch, 1984. Early idea sketch of the front end. “Finned Oilpan” was one of his favorite details, yet to be recognized on Miata, FD RX-7.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy Tom Matano
About a dozen years ago, I commuted to downtown San Francisco from Sonoma County, an arduous drive which entailed crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and coming down Van Ness Street to get to the financial district. Every morning, I would try to catch a glimpse of the showroom at the Academy of Art, which housed one of the most spectacular car collections anywhere in the world. But I never got the chance to pay a proper visit.
That changed when I was given an introduction to Tom Matano. It was a great honor as Tom Matano is a very special person. In addition to being the Chief Designer at Mazda and responsible for notable designs such as the Mazda RX-7, Mazda MX-5, the Miata “M-Coupe” concept car, Tom was the Executive Director of the Academy of Art University’s School of Industrial Design since 2002. After many years, he stepped down in January 2025 and is now Director Emeritus.
1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300.
Story by Brandes Elitch, photos by Hal Schuette unless otherwise noted
Hillsborough is a small town just 17 miles south of San Francisco. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income there was more than $250,000. A previous Bloomberg analysis ranked Hillsborough as the fifth richest town in the US. The Hillsborough Concours is held at the Crystal Springs Golf Club, this year on June 22.
Story and photos by Brandes Elitch
There is one event that might be called “The Pebble Beach of Motorcycles.” That is The Quail MotoFest, now in its fifteenth year. The original idea came from Brooke Roner and Jared Zaugg in 2006: to create a high class, premier judged event for motorcycles, and they said that they based it on the Pebble Beach show. They chose the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, certainly a high-class venue.